Teddy Lupin
by ceirdwenfc
Summary: Charlie Weasley visits newly orphaned Teddy Lupin at his grandmother's house. Spoilers for DH


Title: Teddy Lupin

Author: ceirdwenfc

Rating: GP

Summary: Charlie visits with Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin  
Categories: Remains of the DayLeaving Feast  
Characters: **Charlie Weasley**, Andromeda Tonks, Teddy Lupin  
Genres: **Ficlet**  
Time Period: **Post-War**  
Warnings: **Contains Spoilers for DH**, Sad, Fluff, Canon  
Series: None  
Chapters:1  
Completed: Yes Word count: 576 Read Count: 0

Author's Notes: Written for the Harry Potter 20 Random Facts Fest for luvscharlie's prompt #19: Nineteen: When Charlie was right, he was right. Her heart never belonged to another. Since they first parted, not long after school, she had compared every man she met to him, but nobody measured up to Charlie Weasley. He had simply set the bar too high. All others fell short. She had, for lack of a better word, settled. Remus was a good man, and her son needed a father.

Charlie stood at the blue painted door, hesitating. He remembered the last time he was here. It was a little over a year ago when Tonks told him that she was marrying Remus Lupin. He wasn't surprised. She was never one to sit around and wait. His arm felt leadened as he finally lifted it to knock on the front door, his knuckles thudding against it.

"Charlie Weasley!" Andromeda Tonks exclaimed as she opened the door. She hugged him tightly there on the doorstep before taking his hand and leading him into the sitting room. "How are you Charlie?"

He nodded his head, but said nothing as he looked around the familiar room. It hadn't changed all that much from when he was a boy. He had spent many days here with the young Nymphadora Tonks. His parents called them meeting days, but while their parents and other adults had serious talks, he and Tonks had their own meetings, hunting for frogs and crickets, swimming in the pond, climbing the trees.

"Can I get you a cuppa?"

"Cheers, no."

"Why've you come, Charlie?"

"I came to see… to see Teddy."

"Teddy? Why on earth would you want to see him?"

"Andromeda." He spoke quietly, noticing that she had been fidgeting with her fingers, but she stopped for a moment and looked up at Charlie when he said her name. "You must know."

"You never came before." She bit her lip and began twisting her fingers anew, but she held his gaze.

"Remus was alive then. They were married. I stayed away." He reached his hand to grasp one of hers, stepping closer. He looked into her eyes. He swallowed as the memory of her daughter's eyes came back to him. He bit his own lip now. "They're both gone, Andromeda. _Both_ of them. If the boy had a father, I would've stayed away, but he doesn't. May I see him, please?"

"He's sleeping, but you can go in. Come this way." She held his hand and led him into Teddy's bedroom. The walls were blue and the mural was a castle with a knight on horseback. Flying above the oak tree was a dragon – a Hungarian Horntail that made Charlie smile. Another memory. Andromeda left him alone, closing the door quietly.

As he approached the crib, he could hear Teddy's soft breathing, his tiny snores echoing lightly. He expected his hair to be blue or purple, maybe even pink like his mother's favorite shade, but it wasn't. It was red. Not the red of a rose, but the ginger color of his own hair. He reached out his hand, but did not touch the sleeping infant. Instead he brought his hand back and ran his fingers through his short, ginger hair. Teddy snorted and smiled in his sleep. His tiny dimple deepened as he yawned. Charlie smiled. Now, he reached his hand out to touch Teddy's head. His hair was so soft and strangely familiar. Another memory passed by his closed eyelids as he raked through the downy head of hair. Oh, how he missed his mother. Maybe if he'd been there for her, she'd be here now. He covered Teddy with the handmade blanket, Hufflepuff yellow knit together with Gryffindor scarlet. Charlie bent over the crib, pressing a soft kiss to Teddy's head, and turned to leave, glancing back only once. He and Andromeda had much to talk about; about Teddy's future and his family.


End file.
